Dieback risk reduced thanks to innovative WA-made boot-cleaning device at Mondurup Reserve
Left to right: Kevin Collins, Kathy Collins and Jenny Henzell (Friends of Mondurup Reserve), Kevin Hemmings (Shire of Plantagenet), Esther Cullity (Water Corporation), and Ian Rae and Ronnie Rae (Friends of Mondurup Reserve) with the Phyto Fighter 500.
Vegetation within Mount Barker’s Mondurup Reserve will be better protected from common plant diseases thanks to a specialised boot-cleaning device donated by Water Corporation.
Gifted to local environmental group Friends of Mondurup Reserve, the Phyto Fighter 500 is designed to slow the spread of dieback and other diseases unwittingly carried by bushwalkers.
Invented in Walpole, the brush device is now used across the world as a means of combatting diseases that threaten flora and fauna.
The donation follows a five-month, $4.9 million Water Corporation project to replace a 6km section of wastewater pipeline which partly runs underneath Mondurup Reserve.
The pipeline conveys treated wastewater from Mount Barker to a tree farm, where it is used a safe, fit-for-purpose source of recycled water.
Water Corporation Great Southern Regional Manager Adrian Stewart said crews worked closely with Friends of Mondurup Reserve, drawing on local knowledge to help protect bushland during the pipeline project.
“Mondurup Reserve is home to one of the richest native orchid collections in WA, but this and other vegetation is under threat due to diseases like dieback,” Mr Stewart said.
“Before work began, we sat down with Friends of Mondurup Reserve to understand known dieback locations within the reserve, and to make sure work took place during summer when dieback risk is at its lowest.
“Thanks to this local knowledge, we were able to develop protocols to minimise impact to vegetation and ultimately achieve some really successful outcomes.
“Gifting the boot-cleaning station is our way of giving back to the community and saying thank you to Friends of Mondurup Reserve for their support during the project.
“The new station will allow visitors to continue enjoying the reserve while helping protect local biodiversity, and we think that’s a pretty good outcome”.
Helping protect bushland within Mount Barker’s Mondurup Reserve